4 Reasons Your Business Needs a Business Coach

Have you considered how your business would fair if you had a dedicated business coach assisting you in making critical decisions? Majority of business owners work long hours, are constantly on the move, dealing with complicated issues- not to mention employees, and this can have compromise their ability to make the best informed choices.

This situation isn’t unique to any specific business or industry, rather it’s a wider issue, affecting majority of businesses worldwide, and is part of the reason why a staggering 80% of businesses fail within the first two years. The issue of hiring smart or educated people to run a business doesn’t entirely protect it from this peculiar statistic, and smart people too have been known to close businesses within this time frame.

So where do people go wrong? There is no single answer to this question, and in many cases the solution requires outside help; and specifically assistance from an individual or professionals who can examine the factors that may be negatively affecting performance.

A Business Coach

What makes a business coach so crucial in these economic times is the fact that they understand a business based on today’s reality, and are able to make critical observations and recommend changes that boost efficiency and promote consistent growth. A business coach is essentially a generalist, as opposed to a highly specialized professional- who are plenty among new businesses- and they focus not on a particular aspect of the business, but the business in its entirety.

When a new company starts to lose its initial growth momentum and sales start to decline, business owners need to make significant changes that take effect within a few weeks of implementation. Typical consultants are used to planning incremental results which take long to implement and generate the intended effect, in some cases costing millions to large corporations.

With a small business, a different approach is required and that’s where business coaching becomes an integral part of today’s small business. The rules that seem to govern small businesses are always changing, and it’s never clear who determines this evolution, but it’s clear that all business owners are left with more questions and uncertainties. A business coach comes in handy, forming quick strategies that can reshape the entire business to correspond with the needs of the market, thus ensuring long- term survival and continued growth.

Many of these strategies are implemented for the specific business, as opposed to general industry standards- as is often the case with larger organizations; and that means adapting a plan that’s best suited for your specific needs. When a new strategy is implemented, all existing resources are leveraged to get the best results, and this happens relatively fast, owing to the fact that it’s a small business.

Until a time when the business becomes a commercial success, stabilized and operating on proven strategies, the owner can’t afford to rest, and will invariably require outside support in making critical decisions. Larger companies have a board to manage those major issues but for a small business, much of the responsibly lies with the owner, laying undue pressure on the need to always be right. If you’re operating a small-medium business and are looking for additional support in managing or forming strategies, consider hiring a business coach.

A number of things to consider when hiring a Business Coach:

Are you entirely coachable? As the owner of an existing business you may be forced into a position of admitting inadequacy on your part as the boss and that doesn’t go well with everybody. However, if you want to see positive changes it may be necessary to adopt a more flexible outlook and be willing to take constructive criticism.

Is the business coach equipped with the right tools to make quick, effective changes? Aside from a personality match, find out if they have a plan for your business and the necessary tools to implement said plan.

Is the company environment right for coaching? Coaching normally works in an environment that is not overly political. If your company encourages development and betterment of individuals and policies, and doesn’t penalize achievement, then it should be fairly easy to incorporate new strategies.

How do you measure ROI? Ideally, your two metrics should be profitability and time spent working in your business. You need to make profits and time is a critical aspect for any business, and if you learn to leverage both for your benefit, your strategies will have a lasting impact.

Business coaching can have a great impact when all factors are considered. In order to rediscover the freedom and creativity that comes with successful business ownership, explore the benefits of coaching and find out what it could do for your business.